Paul Pierce has a suggestion for the Nets, and Kyrie Irving probably won’t like it

Whenever Kyrie Irving comes back from his mysterious shoulder impingement, the Nets have a potential powder keg situation. Not only is the team winning with Irving sidelined, but Spencer Dinwiddie has emerged as an All-Star candidate as the starting point guard.

Paul Pierce, the future Hall of Famer speaking on ESPN’s “The Jump,” said the solution is to take Irving off the ball. That may not be Irving’s preferred option, but Pierce said it’s better for both team success and morale.

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“I think you got to play them both. And I really think Kyrie is a better player off the ball because Dinwiddie has been in the system for a year, they really had fun last year, they went to the playoffs, so they’re really used to him playing with that core group,” Pierce said. “Now Kyrie played his best basketball with Cleveland, with LeBron being the primary ballhander.

"So I look at him and Dinwiddie should be the guy who manages the game. Kyrie is a better scorer so put him at the two-guard. I think it would go better that way than with Kyrie being the primary ballhandler. Because he likes to go into his shake-and-bake, guys are watching and not touching the ball. So I like him better at the 2 next to Dinwiddie.”

Pierce, who played one season with the Nets after a storied career in Boston, warned that catering to Irving’s ball-handling desires can have an adverse effect on the locker room. It happened to the Celtics last season, when Irving returned from injury and the team regressed from its Eastern Conference Finals appearance the year prior.

“So what happens if you bring Kyrie back, you bring Dinwiddie off the bench and then they’re not having fun anymore and they start losing games?” Pierce said. “Then there’s going to be a lot of guys — that’s when the chitter-chatter comes to the locker room when guys are talking behind each other’s backs and the whole chemistry gets thrown off. So, we’ll see what happens. If that happens, it can be a long season for the Nets.”

The initial plan was to have Irving as the starting point guard and Dinwiddie as the Sixth Man. Irving was a spectacular scorer in the first 11 games while averaging 28.5 points. But the Nets also went just 4-7. Since his shoulder injury — which hasn’t been connected to any real recovery timeline — the Nets are 11-5.

That entire stretch was also missed by Caris LeVert, who is expected to return soon from thumb surgery. Minutes and touches will be hard to navigate for coach Kenny Atkinson.

“I think chemistry-wise, Dinwiddie needs to be the primary ballhandler. And then when Caris LeVert comes back, he can be the Sixth Man,” Pierce said. “But I do believe you have to play those guys together with Dinwiddie as the primary ballhandler.”